Introduction
James Smith was a naval pensioner who lived at Hardington during the 1880s, staying with his wife’s sister. Before moving to Hardington, he and his wife lived at Plymouth and later at Noss Mayo. After his wife’s death in 1887, he returned to Noss Mayo.
Childhood
James was born at Broadclyst, Devon, on 15 May 1821 to parents James and Ann Smith.[1] His father was a shoemaker.
James was admitted to Greenwich Hospital School at an unspecified date.[2]
Naval career
At the age of sixteen, James joined the Royal Navy and served on various ships between 6 March 1838 and 25 July 1853. On 26 July 1853, he volunteered for seven years’ continuous service, which he extended to ten years on 16 November 1854. He left the navy on 5 August 1863. During these ten years, his conduct was consistently noted as very good.[3]
When he volunteered for seven years continuous service, he was 5 feet 7 inches tall, with brown hair, blue eyes, a dark complexion and no distinguishing marks.[4]
Marriage
In 1851, James married Mary Bartlett at Plymouth.[5] She was the daughter of Robert and Sarah Bartlett of Hardington.
Plymouth and Noss Mayo
In April 1861, James and Mary lived at 13 Chapel Street, East Stonehouse, and James was a sailor.
By April 1871, James had retired from the navy, and he and Mary lived at Noss Mayo, a village about eleven miles east of Plymouth.
Hardington
By April 1881, they had moved to Hardington, living with Mary’s sister, Elizabeth Cox. Elizabeth’s husband, Thomas Gill Cox, had died in 1878.
Mary’s tragic death
Mary died at Hardington on 1 November 1887, aged 67. Tragically, she left their home during a gale, and the following day, two labourers found her drowned body in the river near Bridge Close Farm.[6]
James’s later life
The censuses of 1891 and 1901 show James staying at a boarding house in Noss Mayo run by a widow named Sarah Reeves. He died in 1908 at the age of 87.[7]
References
[1] ADM 73/345/13A (catalogue entry).
[2] ADM 73/345/13A (catalogue entry). The school may have accepted James because his father was a naval pensioner. The catalogue entry refers to his four siblings, suggesting a full family assessment.
[3] ADM 139/27/2688.
[4] ADM 139/27/2688.
[5] Marriage registered Plymouth, Q3 1851.
[6] Western Gazette, 4 November 1887, p.8.
[7] Death registered Plympton St Mary, Q3 1908.
